1. Field of the Invention
Various embodiments described herein relate generally to the field of electronic management of information, and more particularly to collecting, classifying, organizing and transmitting information for completion and submission of electronic forms.
2. Related Art
The vision of a paperless modern society is quickly becoming a reality, as more and more communications, services and transactions take place digitally across networks such as the Internet. The need for paper copies of correspondence, financial documents, receipts, contracts and other legal instruments is dwindling as electronic methods for securely transmitting, updating and accessing these documents increases. In addition to the electronic transmission and access to documents and correspondence, the process of electronically submitting information is also commonplace, such as with online shopping or applications for loans, credit cards, health insurance, college or job applications, etc.
However, much of the information required in these forms is common to other forms, and yet users manually repeat populating the form inputs with the same information over and over again. The ability to collect, organize, update, utilize and reapply the input information required in these electronic documents, forms and applications remains highly difficult. While some applications have been developed to store certain basic information about a user—such as the user's name, address and financial information—the ability to organize, access and apply this stored information for additional online activities remains very limited, especially when detailed input information and/or computations are required to complete forms such as college applications and family law declarations.
There are several programs or applications that allow a user to track financial information, budget, forecast, balance spending accounts, etc. While these tools can save time and provide effective tools for budgeting etc., they do not address the numerous circumstances in which a user is required to provide personal information, financial information, forecasts, categorized expenditures, etc., in a specific format or in accordance with specific forms, etc.
For example, when someone gets divorced, they must provide the court with detailed personal and financial information, both of past records as well as projected needs. This information has to be provided in a very specific state-mandated format using a specific form and it must be updated and submitted to the court at various points during the divorce process, which may last over a long period of time. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates one page of an Income and Expense Declaration that both petitioner and respondent must fill out in a California divorce proceeding. The amount and complexity of the information needed for a form such as this typically requires the person completing the form—such as the party to the divorce or an attorney—to spend a significant amount of time obtaining all of the needed information and even performing calculations of information to obtain the desired values. As another example, when a user wishes to get a loan, such as a car loan or mortgage, the organization providing the loan will often require the user to provide and update certain financial records and information organized in a certain format.
Even well-organized, financially savvy users using currently available personal financial software tools find completing and updating these forms to be burdensome, time-consuming, confusing, and susceptible to mistake. The applicable forms and other applicable items require much more than basic financial information. Additionally, there is a significant need to accurately complete these forms, as the forms can obviously have a significant impact on whether the applicant qualifies for financial aid, a loan, etc., or receives a favorable outcome in a divorce or other legal proceeding.
These same challenges apply to other critical life events, such as applying to, and/or paying for college. The college application process is a high anxiety time for students and very often, their parents. There is a lot of detailed information required to complete college and financial aid applications, including but not limited to essays, transcripts, letters of recommendation, activities, photos, etc. Also, college applications and financial aid opportunities have many different deadlines. It is very difficult to stay organized and keep on top of all the information, deadlines and applications submitted.